Moving-picture mechanism



Aug 39, i930. A. G. MERRlMAN 1,773,5@4

MOVING PICTURE MECHANISM Filed May 2, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l [NVENTOR ug.19, 1930. A. G. MERRIMAN MOVING PICTURE MECHANISM Filed May 2, 1928 4Sheets-Sheet 2 m NNHV I TTORNEY Aug i9, 193Go A. G. MERRIMAN MOVINGPICTURE MECHANISM Filed May 2, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 HM? WA TTORNEY A.G. MERRIMAN MOVING PICTURE MEGHANISM Aug. w, vgf

Filed May 2, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet Patented Aug. 19, i930 Niran sTA'rssraar erica ARTHUR G. MERBIMAN, oF PHILADELPHIA, iriaiviirsiznvamav'MOVING-momma. MECHANISM Application' aiea may 2, 1952s. seriai' No.274,472,

G lier-ein described and claimed application, Serial #Q7/1,473, filedMay 2,-

'Ihe present invention contemplates the provision of an improved motionpicture apparatus used in combination with a cabinet.

which is the subject matter of a co-pending 1928, for a cabinet havingcertain novel arrangements of partitions and picture mechanism therein,as well as a novel association ofthe projecting screen therewith'.

provide a motion picture mechanism having a minimum of noise, vibration,and wear.

A further object of the invention is the construction of an improvedintermittent motion of marked simplicity, giving great smoothness ofoperation, a minimum of wear with age; greatly diminished noise andvibration, and having substantially the ideal rectilinear movement andspeeds necessary to such a motion for'moving picture apparatus.

In accordance with'my invention the film is actuated by a combinedleccentric, cam, and' link motion whichis an improvement over thcharmonic cam and Geneva movements, known to the prior art particularlyin connection with intermittent movements for motion pictureiprojectors. These movements of the priorl'art arevdiiiicult ofmanufacture, requiring great accuracy, and, during subsequent use, aslight'amount of wear produces v Considerable vibration and noise due totheir inherent construction. In the case of Geneva movements it wasnecessary to overcome these disadvantages by providing housings forrunning the movements in oil.` In the case of the harmonic cam a take-upadjustment for wear was frequently used. An important y advantage of.the present invention is that the contact between follower and cam ismaintained by resilient means, thereby constituting an automatic take-upfor wear be-. tween the follower and cam. Anothenadvantage from thestandpoint lof simplicity and compactness is -that the eccentric andcani are combined in a4 single unit, the cam An object of the presentinvention is to.

being so shaped and positioned relative to the eccentric as to maintainthe eccentric follower in position on the eccentric, in addition to itsmain function as a cam, and the Y eccentric follower .gis so shapewd asto maintain the cam.follo wer or tooth fork in position on the cam. Theeccentric and cam are dynamically balanced about the shaft.

Further, in accordance with my invention the best rectilinear movementand speeds nec 'essary for moving picture work are obtained by' thecombined action ofthe link motion and the eccentric-cam combination,

Further, in accordance with my invention, the iilm is protected frombeing scratched or punctured by the tooth fork .due to the con,struction of the portion of the apparatus where the teeth of the toothfork operate to move the film.

Other objects .and advantages will be ap-l parent from the followingdescription, considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, inwhich :j i f igure 1 isa plan view showing the assembly of the completeapparatus `and its sup-I ports. l

Figure2 is a side elevation of the supports sho'wn in'Figure 1. v

Figure 3 is a cross section taken through the apparatus on the line 3 3,Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detailview in' plan of the upper {ilm guide plate with itsspring attached.

Figure 5 is a detail view in plan of the lm trough, showing the film inplace, the picture opening, the slots for the lfilm teeth,

showing a position of the teeth and the tooth the combination eccentricand cam in its re- Alation -to itslfollower 'and to the tooth fork.

This is thus a cross sectional view ofthe intermittent motion.

Figure 8 is a crossvsection taken through thei apparatus on the line8-8, Figures 1 an 3. i

taken along the lin e"1212, Figure 3, and

showing the relation of lamp house, condensing lens, mirror, film gateand trough, and

projecting lens and shutter.v

In Figure 1, I show the sides 1, of a motion picture cabinet to'whichis'fastened a supporting metal framework 2, made of angle pieces:

This framework 2 is the -outer supporting framework and it has cushions3, made of s ongerubber, attached to it. These'cushions 3 support'theinner metal framework 4, 1n such manner that practically nov vibrationfronr the inner frame work is transmitted to the outer framework whenthe mechanism is in operation. This inner framework is attached to thecushions 4 so that it is held in a fairly lirm position.4 1 I IThe lamphouse 5 of the apparatus, having the electric lamp orlight emittingelement 6, the reflector 7 the condensing lenses 8, and

- the wires 9, supplying the electric current to the lamp approximatelyin the positions shown, is supported by the metal framework 10. Thisframework 10 has 'its component elements slotted as shown so that thelamp house is adjustable in any of three directions, verti- 'liti cally,horizontally, or longitudinally.

The motion picture mechanism is supported by the plates 11, which arebolted to the inner supporting framework. e. Only the -upper edges ofthese plates are visible in the plan View, Figure 1. These platescontain the bearingsI for the motion picture apparatus; Fastened to theplates 11 at their upper edges is the plate l2. This plate contains thefilm trough in its center. The plate is made up of three elements andisbest seen in cross section in Figure 12. A bracket 13, is fastened tothe plate 12 as shown, and hingeably mounted on this bracket is the filmgate 14.

A mirror 15, set at approximately an angle of'45 degrees, is hingeablymounted by supports 16 'so that itsdfdcgree angle canbe varied slightlyin either direction; The film gate 14 snaps down 'into 4place and isheld there by small spring catches 17. The con-` struction of kthesecatches is shown in Figure 12, and it is'obvious that the film gate iseasily lifted from the catches for insertion y of the film in theffilmtrough.' .As the gateis liftedit .turns up on itshinge, and is` held upby'a spring which is'not shown, but which isattache'd-'to the bracket13'. The film feeding sprockets 18- feed rthe film steadily toward'onesi'deof the lm trough and take it up at exactly the same speed fromthe other side of the film trough. The film is held in place on thesprocket-s 18 by two small rollers '19 which are supported by bearingpins attached to the lever arms 20. These leverarms 20 are hingeablymounted on the brackets 21 and springs attached -'to these bracket-skeep a tensionl on the lever arms 20, and-.thereby cause thelrollers 19to press the film firmly dcwnon thelilm feed sprockets 18.-'

The film feed' sprockets are mounted on shafts having bearings in theplates 11. Theseshafts are drivenby chain sprockets and chains122.,.,The means of driving these chains from the main shaft by gearsand sprocketson' an auxiliary shaft is shown in Figure 3. Returning toFigure 1, the film is wound on the film supply reel 23, prior to beingrun through the apparatus. This reel ismounted on the hub 24 in'suchmanner that it is easily removed and another reel put in its place. Thehub 24 is mounted in a bear` ing on the bracket 25, and this bracketisratf tached to the side plate llas shown. To permit of VWinding'thefilm on the reel 23, a friction drum 26 (having a rubber periphery'7 inthis case) vis attached to a shaft 27 ,and the shaft is so mounted inbearings on a movablearm 28, that by lifting this arm 28 upward theIpulley 26 is brought in contact With one of the flanges of the reel 23.The pulley 26 is then driven by means of the elastic belt 30, throughthe pulley 29, and shaft727. The pulley 26 then. drives the reel 23 byfric- `tion contact and the film canbe wound on the reel 23.

A kuur-led knob 31 permits ofthe focusing of the projection lens, andthe means by which this. is accomplished is better seen in Figure 12.` vi Another'knurled knob 32 is provided for the purpose of'm'oving themotion picture shutter' out of the path of the beam of light from theprojection lens when the apparatus is' used for displayind singlepictures and the shutter is notneede The means of accom- Iplishing thisis best shown in Figures 10 and 11.

lill) A sprocket 33, mounted on the main shaft 34, drives a chain'which,in turn drives the mechanism of the motion picture shutter. This is alsobest seen in Figures 10 and 11. .A flexible coupling 35 connects themain shaft 34 of the motion'picture.mechanism to the main shaft 36 ofthe power box 37.-

The power box 37 contains' a motor 38 mounted as shown, lWith'electriclead wires 39. This motor' 38 'drives the shaft 43 by 'meansof thepulleys 40 and 42and the elastic belt 41. The shaftf43 drives the'pulle44 by means of thepulley 45 and the elastic elt 47. The belt 47 is ofnecessity wrapped around ltwo idlerpulleys, one ofwhich is shown at 46.This 1s necessary to give the correct di- 'rection of rotation to thepulley 44 in the les its twin idler 149, Figure sofv slot 88 in thesleeve. The sleeve actual model built, and is best shown in Figure 8,but by reversing .thedirection of rotation of the motor 38, and redesignof the worm gears and shaft 48-50, the idler 46 and 8, will not beneeded. The pulley 44 is not fixed to the main shaft 36, but is free torevolve thereon, and is held 1n place by a shoulder on the main shaft.At the opposlte end of the main shaft, and also free to revolve on themain shaft and held in place thereon by a shoulder is the worm gear 50,which is driven by a worm on the shaft 49. At the other end of the shaft49 is a worm gear 48, which is driven by a worm on the shaft 43. Theshaft 49 is mounted in bearings which are suitably mounted on the sideof the power boX 37 as shown. The shaft 43 has its earmgs in the sidesof the power box as shown, belt 30.

A sleeve 52 is free to slide on the main shaft but is made to revolvewith the shaft by a pin 85 fixed to the shaft and operating in a at each""end which engage with mating clutches attached to the pulley 44 andthe wormlgear l50 respectively, whenthe sleeve is pushe toward the wheel44 or the worm gear 50. Thus when the sleeve is engaged with the clutch'on the pulley 44, the 4sleeve and main shaft are driven at the speed ofthat pulley (about 960 R. P. M. which is motion picture'speed). When thesleeve isin midposition and neither of .its clutch ends are engaged, itis at astandstill and so is the main shaft. When the sleeve is engagedwith the clutch on the worm gear 50, it is driven, to'- gether Vwith themain shaft at the speed of the worm gear which is an extremely slow'speed (about 10 R. P. ML) for the purpose of showing single pictures. l

To push the sleeve 52 forward and back a fork 53, attached to a secondsleeve 54,' operates in a groove on the sleeve 52. The

sleeve 54 is mounted on the fixed shaft 56 and is pushed forwandand'back by the handle or lever 55. As thely sleeve 54 is pushed forwardand back, the fork 53 also pushes the sleeve 52 forward and back.

For taking up the lm after it has been displayed, the take-lip reel 57is provided. It 1s known as the take-up reel and is removable from thehub 58 on which it is mounted. Interchangeable reels 57 and 23 aresimilar and so are'V their hubs 58 and 24. v*The reels are easily placedand removed from their hubs. The hub 58 is mounted in a bearing onthebracket 59, which, in turn is attached to' the plate 11. The take-up'reel 57 is driven through its hub 58 and pulley 60 by 'an elastic belt61 and pulley 62, the latter being attached to the shaft of the take-upsprocket 18. i Y

The elastic belts 30 and 61 in the model and has a pulley 51 for drivingthe.-

has ,clutchesv mitted by these belts and it is important that theyshould slip somewhat to allow for the change of speed in the parts whichare driven.

The elastic belts 41 and 47 must transmit more power, operate quietlyand slip very little, hence they are made of rubber. They are roundbelts, though that is not necessary, and they are about one-quarter inchin diameter.

Referring to Figure 3, thel film passes from the reel 23 over the leftfilm sprocket 18 where it is held in contact by the rollers 19. It thenmakes a. loop upward as shown, and then passes between the upper filmguide plate 71 and the lower film slide plate 12. The lilm is now inwhat I call the iilm trough. It is free to slide in either direction,but is pressed down in a fairly iirm manner by the spring 72, Figure 4,attached to the plate 7l. The opening 73 permits the light which isthrown downward from the mirror 15 tol pass to a single picture on thefilm, and then to the projection lens 74. When single pictures areshown, the concentrated light must be on the picture for some time, andthis might scorch the film except for the protective screen 75 which ismounted as shown. This screen 75 in the present model is of atransparent, greenish glass which blocks or absorbs the heat, andprevents scorchingv film.

To prevent scratching the picture on the film the plates .71 and 12 arerecessed lengthwise their entire length. These recesses form troughs aswide as the pictures on the film and only a fraction of an inch deep.This tends to prevent the pictures in the central part of the film fromrubbing on the plates 12 and 71. That is, the perforated edges of theiilrn ride on a kind of track and are held ing on the upper side of theperforated edges. The plate 71 is also recessed at 76 to allow for theaction of the teeth of the intermittent movement which will be describedlater.

down by a duplicate track elastically pressa,

After leaving the ilm trough, the film makes v a second loop as shown'at the right. It then passes over the right filmsprocket 18 where it isheld in contact by the rollers 19.

It is then wound up by the reel 57. When the film has run to its end itis easily rewound by running it in a line directly and nearlyhorizontally from the reel 57 back on `to the reel 23; The lm isinserted in the film trough for a new run by, lifting the levers 20 randthe late combination 14 and 71, inserting the lm, and replacing them.

The intermittent motion shown in cross section in FigureI 7, is vasfollows: Attached to the main shaft34 is combination eccentric and cam80, dynamically balanced. This is made of al single piece of hardenedsteel and consists of a pure eccentric central por'- tion 81 and flanges82, having matched cirtooth fork rests on the flanges 82, and is heldfirmly but elastically in cbntamt with the flangesby the spring 91. Thisspring .is fastened at its lower end to a shaft 93, the latter beinghorizontal and attached to the plates 11. Though a spring is used inthis case to maintain the tooth fork in Contact With the flanges, anyother known means may be used to maintain this contact.

The tooth fork 90 is made of hardened steel and has two .teeth 92,suitably shaped for engaging the perforations of the film. 'lhe fork iskept in position on the fianges 82 and prevented from slipping off ofthem by an extension lug 94, on the eccentric folf lower 84.

, The action of the intermittent motion'is as follows: As the .shaft 34,rotates clodkwise, the follower 84 moves to the right, and, through thelink 86 pushes the tooth fork to the right. The tooth fork is now incontact with the flange offsets 83, which raise it high `enough to keepthe teeth 92 engaged with the perforations in the film. These teeth passup through slots in the plate 12 and their tops are cleared bythe recess76 in plate 71. .The motion of the fork 90 `to the right is now carrying the film to the right and when the amount of this motion hasequalled the dis' tance of one picture, the fiange offsets 83 haveturned so as toallow the-spring 91 to pull the tooth fork 90 down anddisengage' the teeth from the film, thereby ^allowing it to stop with apicture in positioninthe opening 73. The continued clockwise rotationofthe shaft 34now moves the follower 8.4 and fork 90 to the right totheend of the stroke and then back to the left until the teeth 92 are inposition for engagement with the next perforations in the film. By thistime the offsets 83 have turn-ed so as' to push the fork 90 upward andpush the teeth .92 in to engagement, with the perforations ofthe film,and

-- the process is repeated. The arc of the offsets-83 and the positionof the middle pivot of the link 86 are so adjusted that the film moves'durin one sixth of a revolution of the shaft 34,n and remains stationarj during the remainder of the revolution. 'llhis matches the shutteraction -Whichcuts off the light durin one sixth of a revolution as willbe descri ed later. In case the perforations of thevfilm should not bein the right position so that the teeth can engage them,the film is notpunctured but is protected by the recess 76 1n the plate 71. This recessallows the teeth 92 to push the film upward until they move to the rightfar' enough to engage the film perforations,and the natural elasticityof the film'then brings it down again with the teeth in engagement withthe perh forations. The adjustment of the are of the fianges 83 is ofnecessity very accurate so that the engagement and disengagement of .theteeth with the perforations is just spaced by one picture.

Figure 5 shows afragmentary plan view of the film in the film trough,the picture opening7 3, the film slots 95, the tooth fork 90 and theteeth 92. Friction of the film inv the film trough isl reduced all thatis necessary by the recessing of the plates 12 and 71 as describedreviously, and by having the edges of the lm trough scalloped asshown at96, Figure 5.- A further reduction of friction on the film can beattained by placing rollers in the plates 71 and 12, but this is notcarried out -in the present model of the invention.

The projection lens 74 is mounted in a cyl-l indrical mounting 100,which slides in another cylinder 101, the latter being attached tothefront plate 11 by suitable means so that the lens 74 is kept inposition before' the opening 73. To focus, the rack 102 and pinion-103are provided and are operated by theknurled knob 31 by means shown inFigure '12. i v

The shutter 104, mounted on the shaft 105,

is driven from the main shaft 34 by means Vof the sprocket 33 and 111,the chain 110, the l lshaft 108 and the helical gears 107 and 106.A

This is best shown in Figures 10 and 11.

Wfhen singlepictures arershown it is necessary to disconnect the shutterand turn it out of the way of the light beam or it would cut ofi" thelight three times during the showing of la single picture as. it isadjusted to do in the case-of'motion pictures. Forthis purpose, a.Vvclutch 112 is provided on the sprocket 111, which engages with -aclutch on the shaft 108. lA grooved wheel 114 attached to the clutch 112enables it to be vthrown in or out by means of a fork 115 attached to amember "116. This member 116 is attached to the sleeve 54, Figure 1, aswill be described later. When the clutch 112 is thrown out, the shutter104 can be turned out ofthe way of the light beam by the knurled knob32.` The knob 32 attached to the shaft 117 is normally held up by thespring 118, thus keeping the bevel gears 119 and 120 out of mesh. Whenthe knob 32 is pressed down and turned the gears 119 and 120 mesh andact so that the shutter 104 can be turned as desired. The frame 109,attached to vthe plates 11, provides the bearings for the shafts 105and' 108.

Returning again' to Figure 3, the film sprockets 18 are driven by chains121 and 122 running on sprockets22, Figure 1,`on the,

film sprocket shafts, and running on 55 f sible to the right theclutches on the worm gear and the right end of the sleeve 52 areYenvases mediate shaft 125. This intermediate shaft i tegral- 125 isdriven from the main vshaft 3a by a set of gears 126 as shown.Y Thesegearsgive the correct -speed and direction of rotation `to the shaft 125so that the integral of the sprocket movement of the film equals theinofv the intermittent movement of the iilm. f

The mirror 130 is pivotally mounted so that its angle can be adjusted.The brackets for mounting this mirror are' attached to the front andback .plates 11.. The bracket attached to the back plate is shown at131. A At 132 is shown the pivot which can be tightcned by a knurledknob or wing nut. The

mirror 130 reects the beam projecting the picture to the right inasubstantially horizontal direction.

Referring to Figure 8, 1 have a cross sec-y tion of the motion pictureapparatusand power box which gives an advantageous view of much of theapparatus already described, and particularly shows the action of thesliding member 116, the vertical member 53, the sleeve 54., and the highand low speed means of transmitting power from the shaft 43 to the mainshaft 36.

The member 116 is slidably mounted in guides 140 attached to the bottomof the power box 37. A spring 141 keeps theY member 116 as far to theleft as possible, and this member 116, acting through the fork 115,

which iturn acts on the grooved wheel 1141.,-

keeps t ev clutches 113 and 112 engaged.

l/Vhen the sleeve 511 is pushed to the right by` condensing, reflectionand focusing of the the lever the member 53 also moves to the right whenthem and ascrew or stud 1112 attached to the member 53 moves in a slot143 in the member 116. When the stud 142 reaches the right end of theslot 14.3, it pushes the member 116 to the right, and the clutches 113and 112 are disengaged. The shutter is now disconnected and can beturned out ofi` the path of the light beam by pressing downiand turningthe knob 32 as before described. The spring 141 and slot 143 arenecessary because the lengthwise movement of the sleeve 54 and itsattached member 53 are greater than the lengthwise movement of themember '116. This happens in the model now in use, but mightbe dispensedwith in another model by making the two mentioned lengthwise movementsthe same. f

When the sleeve 54 is pushed as far as posengaged andthe main shafts 36and 34 are driven at the very lslow speed for the showing of singlepictures. The clutcL es 113 and 112 are now disengaged and th: ,butterre.

mains stationary.

When the sleeve 54 1s pushed as far as possible to `the left theclutches on the pulley M and the'let end of the sleeve 52 are engagedseries on the lilm'. This high speed revolution of the shutter givesmotion pictures which are practically ree from any dickermg.

When the sleeve 5d is in its mid-position neither of its clutches areengaged and the main shafts are stationary. The pulley 51 then drivesthe reel 23 through the belt 30, pulley 29, shaft 27, and frictionpulley 26, all of the latter being shown in Figure 1. This is for thepurpose of rewinding the lilm on the reel 23. i To hold the sleeve 511in its various positions, a ball 1441 is pressed by a spring 1115 into ahole in the'sleeve 54, an'd this ball engages with grooves 1116 in theshaft k56 as shown. A

The slow/speed of the worm gear 50 is obtained by a double wormreduction. `Worm 147 drives worm gear 48 which is on the same shaftwithanother worm 148 and this latter worm drives the worm gear 50.

The pulley 149 is one of the idlers over which the belt a7 travels.

The member 150 vis the lower part of the framework of the motionpicturemechanism and serves to hold the plates 11 in place.

Figure 12 shows the method by which the Vse light is accomplished. r1`helight from lamp 6 1s condensed by the lenses 8, reflected downwardthrough the, opening 73 and through the picture on the film to theprojection lens 7d. This lens is mounted as before described and isfocused by/ the knurled knob 31 acting through the shaft 151, the bevelgears 152 and 153,the shaft 1511, the pinion 103, and the rack 102, asshown. .The shutter 104 is directly below the lens mounting 100, and itcuts ed the light at extremely rapid intervals for motion pictures asbefore de scribed. f

1. 1n an intermittent movement for a film in a motion picture machine, adrive shaft, a flanged eccentric thereon, a follower driven by saideccentric, a link'arm attached to said follower, a link ivoted at oneend to said machine, said link) arm pivotally attached to said linkintermediate the ends thereof, a second follower pivotally attached atone end of said link, flanges on said eccentric having 125circumferential odsets, said flanges engageable with said secondfollower, resilient means for maintaining said engagement, tooth'structure at the other end of second named follower for engaging theperforations of a motion picture 4film; saidosets so proportioned as tomaintain last named en gagement during the passage -of one picture Y ofsaid motion plcture film. Y

j i 2. In an intermittant movement for a film f n in a motion picturemachine a driving mechanism comprising a shaft and a anged eccen- Y.

tric thereon, a link motion drivenby said eccentric and comprising alink member pivoted at one end to said machine, a second link memberivoted at one end to said irst link member intermediate between theendsthereof, a cam follower attached to said Second link at the otherend, and engaging said eccentric, a. thirdlink member pivotallyrattached at oneend to the other endl of said first link member, andadapted to slidably engage the 'flanges of said eccentric at a portion'of said link member some distance from its m said end, a toothstructure on said third link member adapted to periodically engagerforations in said lm, circumferential o set portions on said flangesfor giving motion to said last named link member for said periodicvengagement: ywith film perforations.'

ARTHUR G. lMERRIMANl

